At a Montreal press conference Monday, economy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced the government would provide a temporary loan of $5 million to save roughly 350 jobs. In 2017, the Quebec government, then under Liberal premier Phillipe Couillard, lent Groupe Capitales Médias $10 million to develop a digital strategy.

Reportedly, Quebecor has expressed interest in acquiring the six dailies, however some in the official opposition have voiced concerns about a concentration of the press.

Quebec’s news industry has seen similar struggles to the rest of Canada. In early June, the province’s oldest weekly newspaper, the Stansead Journal, announced that it would transition to a monthly paper, with former publisher Jean-Yves Durocher saying that in the small, U.S. border town, a print-based weekly “for a market this size with no community support is unfeasible.” It still serves as the only major print news source for the town, located 67 kilometres south of Sherbrooke (which is served by one of Groupe Capitales’ French-language papers, La Tribune).

In 2017, MC Media put nearly 100 community print papers, mostly in Quebec, up for sale. Most of the papers, upon their sale, were shuttered.

And, although it’s boasted the success of its transition to digital, La Presse also announced plans to cut 40 positions from its workforce through a voluntary layoff program in late 2018.